I was really interested when Jeremy talked about not being sure whether or not he could trust the writers or if it was a genuine reflection on the people in Laramie. We made it fairly clear that journalistic interviewing is different from theatrical interviewing. One thing that was said reminded me of something I saw on TV one time...I was watching this "documentary" about reality television (primarily MTV's Real World, Survivor and The Bachelor) and they were all talking about how they were so surprised by how they were depicted on their shows. A few of them even talked about how the producers (during their one on one face time) would egg them on with certain questions and telling them certain things in order to work up some tension or an emotion from them. Then they would edit the clips together to make situations appear worse than they actually were. I feel that we can all agree that reality television is not the best example of reality and I can totally see where there would be some truth behind the former reality stars saying that.
The Laramie Project seemed to be much more honest. There wasn't really a part that I read that stood out to me as something that could be fake or held back. I also got to thinking that these people who were interviewed would probably be more honest then not because (even though I have no proof of this) I would assume that they had to agree to it before signing anything. By essentially volunteering for this, I assume that they were prepared to be honest. Also, most people seem to have respect for the people in situations like this, especially when it hits so close to home that it would probably have been a huge deal on their emotions to try to fake it. It's sometimes hard to put ourselves in the minds of people like the ones depicted in this play when we haven't been there. But being one who has dealt with some traumatic deaths (including living in Boston and being in lock down at school during 9/11) I feel that it would be extremely difficult for me to lie or hold back in situations that would drag up so much emotion out of me.
Also, while looking up some stuff I came across this picture of Matthew Shepard as a baby...for me, it reminds me that this was a person whose family has to deal with this still and not just a case:
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I think that you've hit upon the point that I was trying to make. It appears that you as the viewer trust the statements made by many of the interviewees of the play. Why do you come to that conclusion? My argument is that you come to that conclusion because of the organization of the program of the play. The play appears to be objective, so we disarm ourselves of our normal cynicism regarding people's general honesty. And as Dr. Steiger mentioned in class, most theatrical audiences are accustomed to believe what they see onstage. Although characters in plays lie to other characters, typically the audience acts as the omniscient viewer. This cannot, and must not, be the case for a play of this nature.
The words of a great icon of our day kept ringing in my head in regard to this play. Gregory House says, "Everybody lies." I would add to that statement that "everybody lies, particularly about sexuality." I'm not suggesting that the interviewees are reprehensible lying people, quite the contrary. I am suggesting that their general social kindness keeps them from revealing large components of the story to people whose feelings they wish to spare. So, I'm skeptical that we get a good picture of Laramie as it is or as it was. The Laramie of The Laramie Project is a created space, as much as the Thebes of Oedipus is a created space.
Does this mean that The Laramie Project is a piece of political propaganda that should be ignored by the theatrical world? Hardly. What I am calling for, as I've called for with every play that we've studied, is an objective and careful approach to the text of the play. Let's not forget that The Project is a play, and a play of any value deserves criticism.
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